Happy Labor Day!

It's the ceremonial end of summer, and we are celebrating with a relaxing weekend in the country. We at DBTH wanted to take a quick minute to thank all of you for reading the site, and look forward to a great end of the year.

Enjoy the long weekend and don't do anything we wouldn't do.

Humbly,

DBTH

Inside Abe & Arthur's and Simyone

Feast your eyes on the renderings for Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum's latest project, Abe and Arthur's and Simyone, that is poised to make a big splash opening during Fashion Week. Abe and Arthur's, lovingly named after the owners' grandfathers, will feature Franklin Becker's cuisine, including a sure to be delicious (and expensive) burger with Pat LaFrieda meat. The over/under for the burger's price is set at $20, and for what it's worth, we are taking the over. The downstairs will be the Simyone lounge (seen above), whose door will be tightly guarded by doorman extraordinare Aalex Juian. Just make sure you know his standards before trying to get inside. Like our LB described a few days ago, both the restaurant and nightclub are filled with light woods and stainless steel finishes, and just look at those darling bottle service tables and banquettes. Just perfect for storing bottles and mixers. Who is excited? We are excited!

All the renderings you could ever want, after the jump!

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Flyer Follies: Photopass

Friend of DBTH and all around awesome photographer A Medium Format will be showing his work at T.B.D in Southhampton all weekend, including a little soiree on Saturday night. Do stop by and check it out.

Dropping $160K At Avenue

More from Avenue, where scores of commenters are reporting that one customer racked up a $160,000 bar bill last Wednesday night, rivaling Mike Ashley's run at Pink Elephant last year or Jay Z's July 4th night in Vegas. But as is their habit, no one from the venue is speaking, giving the crazy mofo who dropped this much cash on booze a brief moment of anonymity.

UPDATE: The bottle buyer struck again last night, with a LB telling us "That same guy from avenue last week dropped another big one last night. Id say around the same, if not more... He was buying Patron Silver and Cristal.. i couldn't even count how many. But i was there for the 178,000 dollar night and it was definitely more bottles overall." Call us crazy, but this LB sounds more like the GM.

675 Bar Gets a Dose of Kid Rock

Back in the day, an arrival of a celebrity performer or DJ normally went unannounced, giving the lucky patrons who were in attendance a real thrill and story to share with their friends. Like, "awww man, then Salt and Peppa showed up and did Push It. It was crazy!" So we chuckled over just how far we've come when we saw 675's tweets that Kid Rock had shown up last night and taken over the DJ booth, screaming to the masses to get over to the Meatpacking basement to check out the show. But with only 583 followers (one of whom is on their death bed), was it an effective tool to drum up business for Kid's set or future nights? You tell us.

Double Dose of Avenue

A few Little Birdy's were at Avenue last night and dropped the following, juicy gossip.

• i went last night, I saw all promoters, 0 bottles sold, and the bar was empty. not a good look for a new place. the question asked should be: what places are good now?
• saw Matt Levine with Jeremy Piven at Avenue late night with a bunch of girls, no Eldridge?

Neither of them are that interesting, but we love that Mr. Mercury was hanging out with Mr. Lower East Side in the MePa, while another LB reported that the place was empty. Our heads are spinning.

Su Casa is Officially Open

Good news for all of you who aspire to drink above fast food restaurants. The Mexican themed Su Casa is officially open for business. The space hosted a friends and family night a few weeks back, and the official grand opening party will be in a few weeks. Early reviews from the shillers on Yelp are positive, especially for bathroom design. Go now before it's overrun.

Abe & Arthur's Gets an Early Thumbs Up

A Little Birdy happened upon Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum's soon to open Abe and Arthur's last night and followed the following report:

I walked by the abe and arthurs space last night and the construction door was wide open.  Took a peek in and I was pretty impressed with how slick the place looked.  Yellow lighting, and lots of stainless steel/dark wood.  Very spacious look to it.

Hmm, yellow lighting, stainless steel, dark wood. Sounds just like a Williamsburg condo to us. We all know how well those turned out. Our LB's BlackBerry died while taking a picture, so unfortunately we are just going to have to take their word for it.

Updated Plans for Former Kim's

Is it possible that the former Kim's Video space on St Marks Place will not become a 5 story crap zone known as U2 Karaoke Lounge? According to signs recently posted in the window, the answer is maybe. The recently added pictures show a mini-market taking over the ground floor area, complete with dining area, leading one to believe that the new leaseholders had scrapped their karaoke dreams. But alas, could there be competing uses for the space? Apparently so, since the latest CB 3 calendar shows a J&S Saint Marks Inc applying for a restaurant wine license at the building's address. So while it won't be 5 stories of karaoke craziness, we will probably get 3. Pending approval.

Weekend Quick Hits: A Bevvy of Sadness

Take a day off and look what happens. The weekend was filled with a second DJ's death and news of multiple closings, rocking a hospitality industry that many thought was showing signs of recovery.

• DJ AM was found dead in his apartment in Soho on Friday night from an apparent drug overdose. According to sources, "when they rolled him over, cops discovered a near-empty bag of crack stuck to his chest." Friends became alarmed when AM missed his flight to Vegas for a gig at the Palms and did not answer his cellphone, but by the time they got to his apartment, it was already too late. He will be missed.
• In a restaurant shocker, Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield closed their 9 month old restaurant, the John Dory. The 2 star seafood joint was well reviewed, but according to Friedman, the lack of foot traffic killed their business. The staff will shift to the Breslin while the owners search for a new space to reopen.
• The Griffin has already closed, just months after opening. This could be a clear sign that a standalone club may no longer be able to make it in the Meatpacking District 3.0.  Au Contraire! The Griffin has not closed, with owner Chris Reda saying, "This is absolutely, 150 percent not true. I don't even know where this came from. Business has been great. We have a seven-year lease and aren't closing before then."
• Manhattan stalwart Cafe des Artistes has closed. Originally opened in 1917, the restaurant has been a beacon of Continental cuisine for legions of city residents and tourists looking to enjoy a gourmet meal in a gorgeous setting. Don't believe us? Check out the outpouring of love from the commenters who have special memories from CdA.

The Week That Was

Since it's a rainy summer Friday and we are about to win $325 Million, we have rewarded ourselves with the day off. Having a full time life of leisure requires practice. Have a great weekend everybody.

Humbly,

DBTH

DBTH Poll: Lotto Dreaming

Everywhere we go, we overhear everyday folks talking about what they would do if they won tomorrow's big $325 Million lottery. But to us, it's not what we would do, but where we would do it - because after we take that lump sum of cheddars, it's party time. You're damn right! That brings us to today's DBTH Poll.

Our choices exclude some southern hemipsher spots that are obviously fun but are currently in winter. Got your own suggestion, leave it in the comments.